


Eyes On Me

by kimjiwonandau



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hidden Artist, M/M, shadowed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22125868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimjiwonandau/pseuds/kimjiwonandau
Summary: Jinhwan has the voice who captured the hearts of many. A voice loved by all, recognized by none, seen by one.
Relationships: Kim Jinhwan/Kim Jiwon | Bobby
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Return 2019





	1. PROLOGUE

_ 2018 October _

It was a sunny afternoon in Hongdae where foreign and local songs were blasted into the speakers in every corner of the street. Different melodies with different genres mixed together in the atmosphere of the lively district of Mapo-gu.

In the middle of the food street in Hongdae, a hooded man suddenly stopped in his tracks on his way to his studio, as he heard a particular unfamiliar song in the fused various inharmonious sounds surrounding him. His heart suddenly beat as he heard one particular song. A loud thumping in his chest that he could not ignore. He heard girls squealing and calling his name as he dropped his hood to clearly listen to the song that was playing. He closed his eyes and tried to isolate it. He tried to locate where the song was coming from despite the shouts and camera clicks that were added into the noise pollution. No, it was not the song that he was after, nor even the lyrics that caught his attention. What captured his heart was the one who was singing this unfamiliar song. The one who owned the voice.

As if in spellbound, his feet involuntary dragged him to a place and went inside a restaurant where the song was loudly playing.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he called out to the young lady that was wiping the fingerprints in their dessert counter.

“Hmm?” she responded without looking, signifying that she heard him.

“Would you happen to know who sang this song?” He inquired, hopefully getting a name.

“Oh! It’s Jin-oppa’s Goodbye Road in his recent album Con–,” she yelped and closed her mouth as she turned around to the man that she was speaking to.

“Thank you.” He winked and quickly stormed out of the restaurant, leaving the girl speechless and starstruck while the crowd outside were running and screaming for Bobby’s name in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

_2019 January_

“Nice work, Jin! I told you you’d do great!”

“A rookie who captured the hearts of men and women of all ages.”

“As always, you were fantastic!”

“You’re a real art, Jin!”

These were the words that soothed Jinhwan as he heard it from the other room. He sat and rested his head on the sofa to take a breather in a VIP private viewing suite room overlooking at the concert hall. With his eyes closed, he could hear praises and laughter his hyung was receiving from influential people and of higher positions from the other room. He could not be any happier for the success his hyung was receiving. After all, his brother, Kim Jinu, also known as Jin, was the most sought-after artist in this generation, with multiple invites from different shows, garnering all music show awards, and all lined up upcoming tours outside Korea. It was an artist’s dream to be widely recognized by the general public.

His brother had just launched his first solo album, CONFESSIONS, with his number 1 single GOODBYE ROAD. Physical and digital sales skyrocketed on the first day his album was released, signifying a successful debut for a solo artist. With his confidence and perfect looks, every singer has requested him to do a collab with him.

Unlike his hyung, Jinhwan was a shy boy in his mid-twenties. He was nothing like his brother. His confidence, zero. His stamina, zero. His looks, nothing (as what he believed). But despite all these, there was one thing he knew what he can brag about – his voice.

Jinhwan could say that Jinu’s success was also his own. Whatever his brother was having, he was having it too. They were in sync with everything that they like, and what they do. They synergized each other, bringing out the best from each other. They considered themselves as one being. They considered themselves as one. Because behind all those successes and all the fame, they only had each other to rely on.

He remembered the first time they got to perform together, not as singers, but as a band together with their parents. Their father with the piano, mother with violin, his brother as the singer and him playing the trumpet. He remembered the time when he first held his first instrument, the trumpet. How he loved the sound it produced. He remembered how blissful it was. How beautiful and simple everything was when performing together.

His reverie was cut short when a tap on his shoulder made him open his eyes and saw one of their managers giving him a cup of water to drink. He realized that his throat was dry and a little bit sore but still smiled and accepted the offer. He finished his drink and gave him his thanks.

“Your brother’s going to perform his next song, Mr. Jay.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” He got up from his seat and inserted his earpiece.

“Are you ready, Jinhwan?” a voice was speaking through his earpiece.

“Ah, ah,” He warmed up. “Yes, hyung. Let’s get this started.” he replied, and went to the window where he can see the stage his brother was going to perform. He could see Jinu doing a ment to his audience. He was bright, and full of colors. He was smiling and laughing with his fans. Then the lights dimmed to the center, light pouring down on him, signaling the start of the last song.

The familiar orchestral intro of GOODBYE ROAD played when Jinhwan saw a man with a ghostly reflection. He saw its eyes were dimmed with sadness. They stared at each other as if they understood each other. He smiled at him and saw the same man also weakly smiled back. He turned away from the glass, got his mic from his pocket and put it on his lips.

Jinhwan took a deep breath and started singing. Jinhwan blasting through the speakers with his heartfelt singing, filling the hall with his melancholic voice, and Jinu performing on stage, perfectly conveying the song. Perfectly mouthing every word.

Both were performing.

Both were perfect.

Both were in synchronization.

Both as one performer.

Yes.

Both as one.

==

“Will you please cut that crap. You’ve been listening to that for hours now since its release.” A man in his early 20’s was rubbing his eyes in exasperation. “And wipe that smile off your face. It’s annoying.”

Bobby was looking at the physical album he bought at the store the moment he knew who sang the song. He kept on staring at the album cover with a smile still playing on his lips. “Hanbin-ah, it’s him.” The rapper softly whispered, his hands rubbing his eyes, exposing his bunny smile.

“What?” Hanbin looked at Bobby curiously, trying to understand what he meant.

“It’s him. _HIM,_ him.” Bobby said as if implying that he should recall something from what he said.

“Him?” a few seconds passed before a realization crossed into his mind of what his friend was talking about. “HIM? _HIM,_ HIM? REALLY? No fucking way, Kim Jiwon.” A look of disbelief was evident in his face. He grabbed the album and scanned it. He opened the case and browsed through the mini booklet inside.

“I can never make a mistake about it. I can never forget his voice.” Bobby was smiling. He could not remove the smile from his lips.

“Yeah, right. How many has it been? Third time?" Hanbin put the booklet down, his eyes back on the monitor.

“I just thought that it _might be_ him, before.” Bobby counter-argued.

“Maybe date for real. You know, stop being too hung up on this person.”

“Maybe I just want to say thanks.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Hanbin replied unamused. “OR maybe, you’re just too in love with him.”

"You’re crazy.” Bobby laughed, finding Hanbin’s statement incredulous. He leaned to his chair and chuckled.

“I'm the crazy one now, eh?” Hanbin scoffed, arranging the recording that was displayed in his monitor. “Remember, you were the one looking for this man for years. YEARS, JIWON. Almost everyday you make me listen to a hum that doesn’t even help me find a song! AND A JAPANESE SONG FOR CHRISSAKES. I know you know that I understand Japanese but all you got me were _hanabi, egao, futari, tomodachi, natsu no kaori_. How and where the fuck should I look at it?” He ranted, snickering as he recalled how crazily obsessed his friend was looking for this man. “You’re crazy.”

Bobby blinked. “Maybe, I am." He smiled.

“Hah! Finally. An admission.” Hanbin clicked a few clicks in his mouse before looking at Jiwon. “Now, at least you found him,” Hanbin drank his drink. “And you have a name. Just make sure that this time, it is really him.”

“I’m sure. No worries.” Bobby smiled. “I told you his name was like Jin-something.” He added, feeling proud that he was somehow, correct.

“Okay. Fine. Yeah. Very helpful information to look for a person with a ‘Jin’ in the beginning of his name. Yeah. Totally very uncommon.” Hanbin sarcastically answered as he clicked some tabs in the computer with his mouse.

Bobby was still smiling at the fact that he managed to finally got something right in his incomplete clues. He has something more to say but he kept silent. He pulled his chair next to Hanbin and looked at the screen.

Silence formed between the two. It stretched into minutes with the sound coming from the tapping of the mouse and the keyboard. Hanbin could see Bobby’s stupid smile still plastered on his face. He felt nervous. A behaved, normal Bobby was never normal. And ‘Bobby’ and ‘silence’ never really suited each other. It made Hanbin more uncomfortable. He knew something was up.

“I know this silence mean, Jiwon. And the answer is no.” Eyes still on the monitor.

“What? I’m not saying anything.” Bobby replied, still smiling.

Hanbin could still see that stupid smile. “I know what you want. Stop being a bother.”

“Oh, com’on, Bin! Just this once.” Bobby pleaded, grabbing Hanbin’s arm from the keyboard.

“I knew it!” Hanbin exclaimed and looked at Bobby.

“This last one.” He raised his pointer.

“I’ve heard that!”

“Please? This last one!” He continued begging.

“You’re not gonna make me do stuff with you again and watch another concert from a ballad man.” He looked at his monitor and ignored his friend’s plea. “I had to face the humiliation from my friends into thinking I like ballads. I’m a sucker for hip hop, man! HIP HOP!” Hanbin threw a sudden outburst while doing the hip-hop hand sign.

“I’M THE KING OF THE YOUTH!” He shouted while pointing at himself, “But I don’t complain.”

“You’re a different case! You’re a nutcrack for this person, and of course, you’re crazy!” Hanbin explained.

“We’re not going in a concert. I promise you that.” Bobby snickered as he went near Hanbin. “I have a better idea.” he glanced at his side and smirked.

“No concerts?”

“No concerts.”

“Last one?”

“Last one.”

“Are you sure that he’s the one?”

“Yup. I’m sure of this one. I would never get this wrong.”

“Hmm,” Hanbin placed his fingers on his chin, as if thinking thoroughly. “Okay.” He agreed too easily. He saw Bobby beamed his smile at him and did a celebratory hand dance. Hanbin did not know if he was annoyed or he was having fun teasing Bobby. But seeing his friend being this cute always got him soft. Hanbin would never admit it, but he has this soft spot for his best friend.

“Oh, you’d definitely love this one!” Bobby said excitedly as he composed himself from being hyped.

“We’ll talk about it after we have finished this _Firework_ of yours.” Hanbin told him while fixing some parts of Bobby’s self-composed song.

“I’ll tell Yunhyeong to give you a really good reward tonight for being such a good friend, Bin.” as Bobby typed away on his phone, sending Yunhyeong a message.

“What does this have to do with my boyfriend?”

Bobby saw Hanbin smiling and his cheeks flushed but kept his focus on the screen. Bobby just smiled and ignored him.

With _Goodbye Road_ still playing on repeat from his Spotify, Bobby laughed quietly. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was one hundred and thirty one percent sure that he was not mistaken. The voice. This voice. It was the voice whom he was searching for 3 years ago since the incident. He took the album from Hanbin’s table and looked at the cover album where the artist’s face was looking at him.

 _Kim Jinu,_ he mentally talked to the photo, his smile playfully lingering on his lips. _I found you_. His heart thumping with excitement.

_I finally found you._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jinhwan's summary of his childhood and into existence.

Jinhwan could not remember much from his childhood. He could only recall that he grew up in an orphanage until the age of 6. He came from a foster home in Jeju and grew up as a reserved boy who never talked much with the children in the foster care home. He was adopted by Mrs. Kim, who felt she had an initial attachment to the kid the first time she saw Jinhwan. One day, Jinhwan came home to the warm family of Kims in Jeju-do. The Kims had a son who was 3 years older than him, Jinu, who accepted him as a real brother and loved him like a brother of his own.

At school, Jinhwan had always been the quiet one. His voice would only be heard when it was for recitations and for presentations. School bore him but he gets enough decent grades, unlike his brother, who was very sociable and gets in the honors list every year. What only caught his attention was their music subject.

The Kims were a family of multilinguists and music-lovers. They knew how to play a wide variety of instruments from different countries - from the strings, woodwind, brass, percussion and keyboard family. What caught Jinhwan's interest was the trumpet. It was his first love, which Mr. Kim taught him how to read notes and play the instrument. Jinhwan awed the Kims because Jinhwan was a fast learner. Sometimes he would only watch how Mr. Kim would play the instruments, and a few tries later, he would do it like someone who had already with an experience.

Sometimes, the Kims would play together on their free time. Mr. Kim would play the piano, Mrs. Kim with the violin, his brother, singing, and him playing the trumpet. Everything was perfect. Everything was a bliss. Jinhwan felt blessed. For the first time, he remembered, he was truly happy.

Their family was well travelled. Their parents majored in Ethnomusicology, where they travelled from different parts of the world, studying music and trying to understand the nature of the instrument. Sometimes they would meet friends, fellow musicians, along the way and perform with them on a whim. Jinhwan enjoyed these impromptu performances, because he was enjoying to see the smiles that they were creating for the audience. He felt happier and fulfilled seeing he could give comfort to people he did not know or even with people whom he could not communicate well with the language of music.

Jinhwan loved it when they travel. He felt blessed to have the opportunity to witness and experience the different traditions and culture these countries had to offer. Because of this, learned how to speak in different languages - english, french, japanese, and chinese. He was a fast learner, and the Kim family were really generous into teaching him a lot as he grew up with them. They were never selfish, and that was what Jinhwan really loved about them.

Jinhwan was 10 years old when he got lost in an unknown city in Vietnam. He tried talking to the locals but they were too busy going to their destinations, not minding the little lost boy crying in the corner of the street. He was scared but stayed where he has last seen his family, hoping that they would find their way back to the previous places they have visited. Then a hand was held out to him, his brother, panting and calling their parents from afar to say that he has found Jinhwan. Jinhwan cried from relief, and from then on, he held Jinu’s hand and never let it go throughout the trip.

The Kims would always be invited or be requested to perform in small gatherings - in weddings, parties, school plays, and more. They were highly known in their island and started to get invites from the main city itself, Seoul. It was a good opportunity for the Kims to perform in Seoul, wider audiences, more income, and more opportunities to come.

Jihwan saw his brother as an inspiration. He was lucky to have a brother like Jinu, smart, humble, confident, talented, good-looking, and a perfect son to his parents. He wanted to sing like his brother. He admired how Jinu would perform with confidence, with life, with a smile on his face. Jinhwan never tried singing. He felt that singing was for those people with confidence, and he never had one. Sometimes, Jinhwan would look at the mirror and pretended to be his brother, copying Jinu’s hand gestures and facial expressions when performing, with no sound coming out from his mouth. But it will all end with him feeling bashful and thinking of not trying it again.

One day, when no one was around the house, Jinhwan tried to sing. He has never used his voice to sing but he tried what it felt like to say the words in a melodic way. He tried to sing along with Sung Si Kyung’s ‘We Make a Good Pair’, changing some parts which he thought would blend well with the song. He would remember Jinu’s actions while singing and, honestly, he found it fun. Now he had an idea as to why Jinu preferred singing than playing the instrument. Though both were fun for Jinhwan, but with singing, he found it easier to convey his feelings without talking. Anytime, anywhere.

Jinhwan was singing his favorite japanese song when someone joined him. He noticed a person standing by his room’s door frame, Jinu, was singing with him. Jinhwan abruptly stopped and turned his back on him, too shy to have been caught something that he was not confident about. Jinu asked him to continue singing, but Jinhwan hesitated, tears formed in his eyes, too embarrassed to look at his brother. Jinu started singing. He saw that Jinu was reaching out to him, like from the time when he was lost, once again picking up from his worries. He was trying to encourage Jinhwan to follow him. Jinhwan felt a bit confident seeing his brother smiling at him, his hand still outstretched, inviting him to sing along with him.

They sang, both him and his brother. They sang together and it never felt happier to do a duet with his most beloved brother. He would let Jinu do the main melody and he would voluntarily do a voicing with him, creating a powerful duo of vocals in the family.

But Jinhwan did not completely let go of his first love. He still played with his trumpet whenever they perform for events. He still enjoyed the company of his parents and the performance his brother was showing.

At age 15, Jinhwan was in his middle school when he heard Jinu discussing his future plans with their parents. It was his first time to see his hyung deciding to stop going to school to pursue being a singer. Their parents were really supportive of their decisions in life. They agreed to his plan to train under a company but with one condition, that he should not stop going to school, convinced him to at least try to finish school until graduation. Jinu was happy. The seriousness and desire could be seen in his eyes. Jinhwan believed that being a singer was really made for Jinu. It got Jinhwan thinking, what did he want?

It troubled Jinhwan. He has not decided on what he wanted to be, unlike his brother, it was evident that Jinu aimed to be part of the entertainment industry, no doubt about that. He wanted to sing like his brother but he has no confidence in performing in front of others. He scratched that idea. He settled with performing together with his parents, singing while playing a guitar. He may not be that of a performer like his brother was, but it was enough to fill in the space Jinu left, while Jinu lived a busy life - going to school in the morning, and in the afternoon, go to the company to train then go home late at night (at times, past midnight) to rest and wake up after a few hours of sleep and go back to school. A busy routine life of an idol-trainee.

After a year of juggling studies, work, and life, Jinu graduated with flying colors, and fully training under the company.

It has already been two years since Jinhwan had properly talked or seen Jinu. Their schedules won't let them meet. His brother was nocturnal, and he was diurnal. It would be either Jinhwan was awake and Jinu was asleep. Jinhwan missed his company, especially when they were performing. One day when they caught each other sneaking food into their rooms, they had a chance to talk and catch up on each other’s activities. He learned that Jinu met a very young manager - a lot younger than him, the son of his company’s CEO. Jinu did the talking while Jinhwan had fun listening to him.

Jinhwan was 18 when his brother invited him to join him in some of his gigs. They started to perform again, but this time in various small pubs, and cafes as a hobby - Jinu with vocals and guitar, and Jinhwan as his occasional side vocals and with his trumpet. This gave Jinu pre-debut exposure and Jinhwan gained experience. He loved every moment they spend together performing. As one could say, performing, really, was their passion. It was their happiness. But everything crumbled when an earthquake hit their beloved island, losing their homes, their families, and his brother’s dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dates are placed to know how the story flows. It'll be a series of recollections of the past and present times.

_2016 September_

Bobby had just finished his gig in a small pub named _Space_ _Marley_ in Jeju-do. He was resting in one of the rooms that was given to him. He performed his life-bringing, exciting song ‘GO’ in the pub that brought the house down. He was known to bring life into the party. His energy exuding in his performances. His stage was his turf. It was his playground. Three songs after, he now wanted peace and quiet in his room.

He was aiming to be scouted in the entertainment industry by exposing and gaining himself with experiences of performing his different styles of rapping. His best friend, Hanbin, his “manager”, would mostly do the booking and inquiries for the different pubs and clubs for Bobby. Performing in the pub was one of the requests made by Bobby’s high school friend, Yunhyeong, who just opened the pub recently, to make a start-up and attract customers and as well as indie artists to display their talents, and Bobby was definitely one of the main attractions for tonight.

He felt the need to relieve himself after all the water he drank while performing. He got off from the sofa and went out to the room when he heard someone singing. He stealthily tried to go to the comfort room at the end of the corridor but his ears were suddenly captivated by a voice that reverberate through the hall.

The voice was soft, not too soft, but like a gentle breeze kind of voice that lingered in his ears. It has a serene tone that made him swayed from his direction, forgetting his destination, unknowingly following where the sound was coming from. The voice was getting louder, hinting that he was getting close. He turned a corner, and there it was, the owner of the voice, a boy he assumed younger than him, showing him his back, getting himself a cup of water in the dispenser, singing so gently, pronouncing words he was not familiar with but instantly captured his heart the moment his voice touched his ears.

Bobby closed his eyes, and let the dreamy voice engulfed him. It lulled him to calmness. It reminded him of the peaceful time from his childhood days when he was still living with his parents in Fairfax, Virginia. The time when he was in love with his girlfriend. It was gentle but powerful, feeling himself being lured into this voice that reminded him of memories that were beautiful. Memories that had been long forgotten the moment when he entered the busy world of entertainment that he was living in.

Bobby's trance was cut short when the singer abruptly stopped singing. He noticed that the building started to shake violently. He saw the man held on to the dispenser to balance himself and looked at his sides, still unaware of his presence.

Pieces of the roof were starting to fall, Bobby noticed that the wall near the man was starting to crack.

“LOOK OUT!” Bobby shouted and ran towards the man. The man faced him briefly before he felt himself slammed into him. The roof and walls crashed down, fortunately dodging the pile of rubble that almost crushed them.

Bobby had his eyes closed while waiting for the earthquake to stop. He felt something hard pressing on his back. The quake continued, getting stronger by the moment. Bobby was waiting for it to slow down, hoping no additional amount of weight to carry on his back, or else he would be crushed. It took a while before the shaking stopped. He opened his eyes and scanned the place. The lights were cut off and he tried to adjust his eyes with the darkness. He could somehow see the outline of things in the dark and felt that he was under the rubble of the roof and the wall. A big slab of the broken wall was set at an angle that was preventing further collapse of the fallen roof, making their space limited. He heard a cough that brought him back, noticing that he was still hugging the man under him who was shaking uncontrollably.

“A-Are you okay?” Bobby asked, his concern for the man was instant as he supported his weight on both arms to prevent himself from crushing the guy. He could see the man nod in the dark, still shaking from the shock. Bobby grunted as he slowly tried to move the pieces of debris that were weighing on his back. As he was about to remove himself from the debris, the ground shook again and he felt something hit his head, instantly knocking him unconscious.

==

“Jinuuuu, my man! How are you so impossible?” Chanwoo, a tall, slicked, black-haired guy in a suit, came and vigorously shook hands with Jinu. “With your talent and with your face? You really are a package to behold!”

“Chanwoo! Why are you here?" Jinu smiled wide-eyed, surprised to see his manager in the pub.

"Of course I know your activities! What kind of a manager would I be if I cannot handle my potential worldwide artist in the making!" Chanwoo said it aloud with pride, thumping his chest with his palm.

Jinu chuckled. The duo were having their break in the backroom when Chanwoo suddenly appeared and made them jump in their seats. Jinhwan excused himself and told them that he would continue eating his meal while watching the last performer in the pub. Jinu nodded, “I’ll follow you after.” He waved and Jinhwan closed the door.

“You know what? Jinhwan’s such a waste. He has a great voice but he has no confidence like yours. Tsk.” Chanwoo nonchalantly voiced his opinion as his eyes were glued to the door. Jinu pouted on Chanwoo’s tactless remarks, but he could not help but feel bad for his brother that, somehow, Chanwoo was right, his brother lacked self-confidence. "He’s another gem, to be honest.” He added. Chanwoo looked at him with expectancy and glow in his eyes. “By the way, Jinu. Remember Mino? The producer that I was talking to you about? The one I introduced to you before?” He asked, his excitement apparent in his voice.

“Ah, yeah. I remember him.” Jinu held his chin and nodded thoughtfully.

“I sent him your demo tapes and guess what?” Chanwoo wiggled his eyebrows, obviously cutting the news to create suspense.

Jinu was speechless. He had his hopes up. He had been working on his sample demos and was lucky enough to have met Chanwoo in a coffee shop a year ago. Chanwoo was a familiar face in the audience before he came and introduced himself wanting to be his manager. He did not like Chanwoo at first because he was clear and direct with what he wanted - his face and his talent. The first time they met, Chanwoo introduced himself as someone who can help him in the music industry which gave him hope to a dream he has been dreaming of. Sometimes, Chanwoo made him do things that he made him uncomfortable, but trust Chanwoo that he would only do things that will benefit both Jinu and himself. Jinu knew that Chanwoo only cared for his own reputation and earnings, which was Jinu, his possible asset.

“He loves your songs. And he wants to start recording more right away into my father’s company,” Chanwoo confirmed his expectations and he started tearing up. “Don’t cry on me now, Jinu. We have to prepare you soon. You’ll be meeting with my father.”

“Your father? The CEO?”

“Yup. That guy. I have to show him my most prized possession!”

Jinu was speechless for a moment. He was feeling a bit elated with the news of the possibility of finally reaching his dreams. His tears of joy fell from his eyes.

“W-why are you crying? You’re such a baby!” Chanwoo teased, offering his handkerchief to him.

Jinu wiped his tears with his hands, rejecting Chanwoo’s friendly offer. “Remember, I’m still older than you, punk.”

Chanwoo laughed. “We’ll be seeing each other soon.” He tapped Jinu’s shoulder as he went to the door to go out. “You know, invite your brother too. He might want to give me some income too.”

“You and your money-making schemes.” Jinu laughed, he already got used in Chanwoo’s money-centered business. Sometimes he just laughed it off, but most of the times, he really wanted to punch him in the face. “I’ve invited him before and he said no. The reason why he’s ignoring you because you’re making him uncomfortable.”

“You know I’m persistent when I see a potential money-making talent. ” Chanwoo said making a series of tongue-clicks and shooting finger hearts, knowing this pisses Jinu off.

“Goodbye, Chanwoo.” He waved his wrist, shooing Chanwoo out the door.

“Rest well and see you soon-, what the fu-“ Chanwoo cursed as the ground suddenly shook aggressively.

The walls were forming cracks, small debris from the roof were falling. Jinu stood still. “Jinhwan,” he whispered.

“JINHWAN!” He called out, pushing Chanwoo out of the door and ran to where Jinhwan was. People were panicking and rushing towards the exit door, some tripped and people kept on pushing themselves outside. The roof started to fall that resulted to more pushing and stampede. Jinu pushed himself, trying to look for Jinhwan in the crowd.

==

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip_

_Bobby was lying down on the shore, with the cold water softly touching the ends of his feet, and gentle rays of the sun touching his tanned skin. He closed his eyes and spread his arms on the sand. The calming sound of the waves crashing into the shore was enough to lighten up his mood._

_Where he was, he didn’t know. He didn’t mind at all. He loved the water and he loved the feeling of being free and contented. It has been a long time since he felt floating._

_Floating?_

_He saw himself far from the shore, his body slowly sinking._

_Suddenly, the sound of angry waves came crashing into him, drowning him in the sudden deluge, pulling him deep into the sea. The cold water engulfing him, drowning him in his slumber, suffocating him. He held his breath until his lungs cried out for air. His chest was crushing and was drowning deeper into the sea. His heartbeat thumping louder, muffling all the sound in his ears. He shut his eyes hard and exhaled his last breath waiting for water to fill in his lungs but he breathed in a sweet scent of mandarins._

_Bobby blinked. He opened his eyes. The sun was bright and the sky was blue, dismissing the fact that he was previously in the sea. Birds were chirping, and dogs were barking from afar. He was in a field of mandarins, a fresh smell of mandarins filled his nose, breathing deep as he savored the air that his lungs lacked seconds ago._

_Bobby heard someone humming into his chest, a reminiscent melody that he could not familiarize himself with. He touched his chest but could only feel his heartbeat. He could still someone humming but there was no one in the field. He could feel something warm surrounding him like a warm hug shaking him._

_“Hello!” he shouted, hoping for someone to hear him. No answer._

_“Anybody out there? Hello!” he cried out once more. He remained alone._

_The skies quickly turned dark. The fields were gone. His mind was spinning but the sweet scent of mandarin still lingered in the air._

_Drip._

_A raindrop fell down from the sky._

_Drip._

_A single drop and he was drowning again. He felt his chest heavy. His vision was getting dark._

_Drip._

_The evident sound of the single raindrop hitting the ground one by one, loud and hard._

_Drip._

_Raindrops were pouring down, blocking his ears from all the sound. Then silence. Everything was black. He couldn’t feel the floor, nor couldn’t figure out if he was standing or lying down. He was floating into an abyss. The eerie sound of silence was deafening him._

_He could feel that his body was slowly losing its senses. His eyesight was long gone, his body was already numb, the faint smell of mandarins slowly fading away, and lastly, the drumming of his heartbeat slowly dying down._

_He heard a muffled sound from a distance. He knew he heard someone singing. He believed he opened his eyes but he couldn’t see anything. He tried to shout but no sound came from his mouth. He started to swim, slowly threading into air, finding for the only voice that was not his._

_‘– hanabi’_

_The voice continued to sing, it was getting clearer. He started to swim faster, searching for the only sound that was keeping him sane. He kept on swimming into the dark towards the sound that he was hearing._

_‘Natsu no kaori’_

_The voice was getting clear. It was as if he was almost going into the surface, wherever it was. He tried hard and faster the voice was getting louder and clearer._

_‘Hohoende kurikaesu futari no yume’_

Bobby sucked in for air. He woke up to a dull headache. He knew he had a dream but still sucked in for air as if his lungs were on fire. His breathing was labored. His senses were slowly coming back, his limbs were tingling, his back was aching, and his ears were ringing. He was trying to remember what happened but his mind was spinning. He groaned while trying to get up but something was preventing him to move. He felt a hand pressing the back of his head pushing his face down to a cushion. He opened his eyes, or so he thought, He could not see anything, but could still smell the sweet scent of mandarins that was in his dream.

‘ _A_ _m I still dreaming?’_ Bobby thought. He could not figure his surroundings; it was pitch black.

“Thank god, you’re awake.” Bobby heard _the voice_ whispered into his ear, his hold on Bobby tightening. “Thank god, you’re awake.” The voice was now sobbing, he could hear the relief in its voice, repeating the words like a prayer, hugging him tightly as if never wanting to let him go. He could feel that he was on top of a body, assuming the man he had tried to rescue a while ago during the earthquake.

Falling roof. Earthquake. The man. The voice.

Bobby groaned as he remembered everything slowly, trying to touch his head but a hand stopped it and kept on pressing it hard.

“Y-your head was bleeding. I had to keep the pressure to stop it.” The man said, still pressing hard on the area where Bobby assumed he was hit.

Bobby groaned as his body was slowly recognizing the pain his body felt. He could feel his whole body hurting but his legs. His legs were numb. He was suddenly aware of their position. He was on top of the man with his one hand hugging Bobby tight under his arms and the other pressing the injured part of his head. Bobby’s face was buried deep into the man’s neck to keep his head stable from the pressure. He smelled exactly like the mandarins in his dream. He knew it was not the right time to laugh, but he still chuckled, a small smile formed his lips. It was calming to know that he was not alone, unlike his dream.

“I think I’m okay. Thanks.” He said and tried to give space to the man as he positioned his forearms on the sides of the man’s head to support his upper torso.

“A-are you sure?” The man whispered, slowly releasing his hold on his head.

Bobby shivered as he felt the man’s hot breath on his lips, too distracted at the unsuitable scenario of the proximity of their lips as he could feel the tip of their noses almost touching each other. “Y-yeah. It still hurts but I can manage.” Bobby replied in a whisper, trying to raise the block that was on his back, to create more space.

The man continued to give soft sobs but he removed the hand on his head. He also tried to push the block on top of Bobby, trying to create enough space for the man to move.

Bobby pushed enough to raise the block on his back, enough for the man under him to crawl free then he released his hold, fortunately enough, the rubble remained where it was and didn’t crush him any further.

Bobby felt a bit dizzy as his body relaxed and laid face down. His head started to throb and the pain was killing him. He could hear the man shuffling and pulling him out from the rubble, freeing his feet from the fallen debris. He could feel the back of his head pulsating, believing that his blood started to ooze once again.

Bobby could hear the man shuffling, assumed tearing a cloth, probably his own shirt. "Come on, sit down. Let me wrap your wound." The man said trying to raise him up. There was enough room for them to sit beside each other. Bobby felt the man go behind him and started wrapping his head. Bobby stretched his feet and it started to prickle, he winced as he tried to massage his feet. He felt the bandage tightened around his head.

Bobby felt the man's hands dropped on his shoulders and his head on his back. “I thought you were dead.” the man cried in relief. "I really thought you were dead." Sobs continued as he felt his hands shaking. Bobby scooted around to face the man, now seeing the dark figure wiping his tears off his face. He felt the urge to hug the smaller man but restrained himself from doing it for he might scare his companion. He took his hands and started rubbing his thumb over them, "I'm here. Don't worry." Positivity was his forte but he cannot stop the man from sobbing. "We can stay together until someone can find us." He saw the man nodded his head in the dark. Both leaned on the wall, their hands held together, bigger hand tightening around the small hand. Bringing comfort to each other.


End file.
